Kerry arrives in Iraq — Sunni militants gain on the ground

BREAKING OVERNIGHT — KERRY ARRIVES IN IRAQ, via The Associated Press: “Confronting the threat of civil war in Iraq, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry flew to Baghdad on Monday to personally urge the Shiite-led government to give more power to political opponents before a Sunni insurgency seizes more control across the country and sweeps away hopes for lasting peace.

“The meeting scheduled between Kerry and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was not expected to be friendly, given that officials in Washington have floated suggestions that the Iraqi premier should resign as a necessary first step toward quelling the vicious uprising. Nor will it likely bring any immediate, tangible results, as al-Maliki has shown no sign of leaving and Iraqi officials have long listened to — but ultimately ignored — U.S. advice to avoid appearing controlled by the decade-old specter of an American occupation in Baghdad.” http://bit.ly/T2BA9g

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LATEST ON THE GROUND — SUNNI MILITANTS GAINING: “Sunni militants have blitzed through the vast desert of western Iraq, capturing four towns and three border crossings and deepening the predicament of the Shiite-led government in Baghdad led by Nouri al-Maliki,” the Associated Press reports from Baghdad. http://bit.ly/1qs08F6

And Iraq’s military is unlikely to turn the tide, via The New York Times: “As Iraqi Army forces try to rally on the outskirts of Baghdad after two weeks of retreat, it has become increasingly clear to Western officials that the army will continue to suffer losses in its fight with Sunni militants and will not soon retake the ground it has ceded.” http://nyti.ms/V4somT

OBAMA SAYS IRAQ INSURGENTS ‘MEDIUM, LONG-TERM THREAT’: President Barack Obama said in an interview aired yesterday on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that other militant groups — such as Yemen’s Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula — pose a more direct threat to the United States at this point. He said the danger ISIL poses is having a regional “destabilizing” effect in Iraq and Syria that can impact allies like Jordan, reports POLITICO’s Katie Glueck.

But Obama dismissed as “fantasy” suggestions that the dynamic would be different had the U.S. backed the moderate rebels in Syria. “What we can't do is think we're just going to play "whac-a-mole" and [have] U.S. troops occupying wherever these organizations pop up," he said. http://politi.co/1qs0o6X

GOP DIVISIONS — PAUL PUSHES NON-INTERVENTIONIST APPROACH: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) diverged from many of his Republican colleagues on yesterday by cautioning against the U.S. getting too involved in Iraq. He also took a shot at the George W. Bush administration by arguing they created the conditions for a “jihadist wonderland” in Iraq — rather than blaming Obama, as many GOP hawks have.

“If we were to get rid of Assad, it would be a jihadist wonderland in Syria,’” Paul said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” via POLITICO’s Tarini Parti. “‘It’s now a jihadist wonderland in Iraq precisely because we got over involved not because we had too little involvement.” Still Paul said he was not ruling out assisting the Shiite-led government, though he ruled out ground troops. http://politi.co/1qs0Nq4

Cheney takes aim at both Paul and Obama, via POLITICO’s Glueck: "Rand Paul, with all due respect, is basically an isolationist," former Vice President Dick Cheney said yesterday on ABC’s “This Week.” "He doesn't believe we ought to be involved in that part of the world. I think it's absolutely essential.”

Meanwhile, Cheney said Obamawas “dead wrong” on his approach in Iraq. “I think we're in for big trouble in the years ahead because of his refusal to recognize reality and because of his continual emphasis on getting the U.S. to basically withdraw from [that part] of the world.” http://politi.co/1qs0R99

Sen. Barbara Boxer calls Cheney’s comments “sick”: “When you really look back at the record, it was Vice President Cheney and [former Secretary of State] Condi Rice working for George W. Bush and [former Defense Secretary Donald] Rumsfeld, and all those folks it’s just like, you know, a nightmare come back to haunt me,” Boxer said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” http://politi.co/1qs10to

IT’S MONDAY, AND WELCOME TO MORNING DEFENSE, where we’re still confident USA will make it to the World Cup knockout round despite the heartbreaking last-second Portugal goal. And we’re definitely rooting for the geopolitical fun that would come from the slim possibility of a U.S.-Russia first-round knockout game. Email us with tips, pitches and suggestions at jherb@politico.com, and follow us on Twitter @ jeremyherb and @ morningdefense.

** The Commandant of the Marine Corps called the San Antonio-class of U.S. Navy amphibious warships the “Swiss Army Knife” of all naval ships. Congress should provide funding for the construction of the next amphibious warship, LPD 28 amphibiouswarship.org http://bit.ly/1vtD0Ix **

BULLETIN — MISSILE INTERCEPTOR TEST SUCCESSFUL: The Missile Defense Agency announced yesterday that its Ground-based Midcourse Defense system successfully intercepted an intermediate-range ballistic missile, the first successful attempt since 2008.

“The successful interception will help validate the troubled Boeing-run Ground-based Midcourse Defense system,” Reuters reports. “Sunday's high-stakes test came after the system had failed to hit a dummy missile in five of eight previous tests since the Bush administration rushed to deploy the system in 2004 to counter growing threats by North Korea.” http://reut.rs/1yBTqAZ

TODAY — MABUS HOSTING NAVY YARD CEREMONY: Navy Secretary Ray Mabus is hosting an award ceremony at 9 a.m. in Luetze Park to honor those killed and recognize the heroic actions taken during last September’s shooting at the Washington Navy Yard.

And Morning D has an excerpt of Mabus’ remarks: “We are a family, the Navy and Marine Corps family. As a family, we grieved and continue to grieve together. We gather again here as a family to recognize the heroism of those lost and the heroism that confronted evil on that day last fall.

"The courage we witnessed on the 16th of September did not end with the closing of that terrible day. Even on Tuesday the 17th, people returned to their work. By Thursday, when much of the Navy Yard reopened, thousands, whose lives had been in real peril three days before, we’re back doing the vital work of our nation. The courage endures today."

WEEK AHEAD — COCHRAN RUN-OFF TUESDAY: The defense industry is closely watching Mississippi’s primary runoff tomorrow between Republican Sen. Thad Cochran and his conservative challenger, state Sen. Chris McDaniel. Cochran, the top Republican on the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, is trying to avoid being the latest incumbent to fall victim to a tea party-backed challenger.

FLASHBACK — DEFENSE INDUSTRY COMES TO COCHRAN’S AID, from the May 5 edition of Defense Influence: “Facing a conservative primary challenge, Sen. Thad Cochran has received a major boost from the defense industry. In the first quarter, the Mississippi Republican received more than $35,000 from individual donors who work in the defense industry, along with about $45,000 from industry political action committees. His haul included the maximum $5,200 from four top General Atomics executives, including CEO Neal Blue and Vice Chairman Linden Blue, along with more than $11,000 in contributions from 21 Raytheon employees.” http://politico.pro/SsOj5O

ALSO ON TUESDAY: The House Armed Services holds a hearing on “case studies in DoD acquisition,” with former DoD and industry officials testifying. Among the witnesses are retired Vice Adm. David Venlet, once at the helm of the oft-criticized F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, and Brett Lambert, the former director of DoD industrial policy now with the National Defense Industrial Association.

SPEED READ

— In Egypt, Kerry says U.S. Apache helicopters will soon be delivered after a meeting with its new president, Abdel Fattah Al Sisi. The Wall Street Journal: http://on.wsj.com/1yBVFo7

— Israel strikes nine military targets in Syria in response to the killing of an Israeli teen. Haaretz: http://bit.ly/T2D6Zd

— Glenn Costie, who has led the Dayton VA in Ohio since December 2011, is temporarily replacing Steve Young, the interim director of the Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care System. The Associated Press: http://goo.gl/H5vnCs

— Accusations of voter fraud emerge in Afghanistan’s presidential election as candidate Abdullah Abdullah accuses the head of the Independent Election Commission of telling leaders in provinces to stuff ballot boxes using code words. Reuters: http://reut.rs/1uT18SH

— Russian President Vladimir Putin voices his support for a cease-fire in Ukraine but also puts 65,000 troops on combat alert. Bloomberg: http://bloom.bg/1lIhufE

— About 1,100 captains and 500 majors will receive news that their military careers are ending as the U.S. Army slims down in light of uncertainty of the military’s future budget. Stars and Stripes: http://1.usa.gov/1nv06cX

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Authors:

About The Author

Jeremy Herb is a defense reporter for POLITICO Pro. Prior to joining POLITICO, he covered defense and national security for The Hill, and covered the Minnesota congressional delegation and 2012 Republican presidential primary as a Washington correspondent for the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Herb is a native of San Jose, Calif. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Santa Clara University and received a master’s degree from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.